Longitudinal impacts of grandparent caregiving on cognitive, mental, and physical health in China

OBJECTIVES

Although studies have documented the effects of grandparenting, little is known about grandparents' long-term health outcomes in terms of optimal engagement with grandchildren, and whether age, gender, or location make a difference. This study explores the longitudinal impacts of grandparenting on health, with considerations for subgroup differences.

METHODS

Using three waves of China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study, we used propensity score analysis combined with multilevel analysis to examine the longitudinal effect of grandparenting (no, low-, moderate-, and high-intensity) on health (self-rated health, mobility limitations, depressive symptoms, and cognition) among 4,925 grandparents with at least one grandchild, and how impact varies by age, gender, and urban/rural areas.

RESULTS

A nonlinear relationship between grandparenting and health was observed. Compared to those not providing care, grandparents who provided care at a low-to-moderate level were more likely to have fewer mobility limitations and depressive symptoms and better cognition. High intensity had no positive impacts on health. The effects of grandparenting on health operated differently across subgroups. Older grandparents showed better physical, mental, and cognitive health compared to their younger counterparts. Both genders had fewer mobility limitations if they provided care at a low-to-moderate level, although females reported better self-rated health. Rural grandparents reported better physical health; whereas urban grandparents reported better cognition.

CONCLUSION

Grandparenting could improve health in later life; however, there are complex interactions at play. Policies aimed at supporting grandparenting should consider optimal hours of care relevant to age, gender, and urban/rural contexts.

Culturally-specific productive engagement and self-rated health among Taiwanese older adults

Productive aging is one of the most prominent gerontological concepts in Western societies over the past three decades. However, it is relatively unknown what types of productive engagement affect self-rated health in Asian societies. The mechanisms linking them are also not thoroughly explored. Using the representative 2017 Taichung Good Elderly Life Survey (N = 616), this study examined whether and how work-related, family-related, and community-related types of productive engagement are associated with self-rated health among older adults in Taiwan. This study first revealed the culturally-prioritized types of family-related engagement (i.e., emotional support for adult children and leisure care for grandchildren) and several types of community-related engagement were significantly and positively related to self-rated health, whereas employment, financial and instrumental types of support/grandparenting, and volunteering were not. Second, this study indicated that the previously understudied psychosocial mechanisms (i.e., resilience, sense of control, making new friends, and schedule compliance) partially accounted for the association between productive engagement and self-rated health. Findings suggest the importance of examining culturally-specific indicators of productive aging and their differential health effects in non-Western contexts.

Patterns of productive activity engagement as a longitudinal predictor of depressive symptoms among older adults in urban China

OBJECTIVES

Using two waves of panel data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study, this study prospectively assessed whether four distinct patterns of productive activity engagement would predict depressive symptoms among older adults in urban China two years later.

METHODS

A sample of urban residents aged 60 or above at Wave 1 and who were interviewed in both waves (N = 2398) was used. Latent class analysis (LCA) was conducted to identify distinct patterns of productive activity engagement that occurred within the Wave 1 data. Next, the generalized estimating equations were used to assess whether identified patterns predicted the levels of depressive symptoms measured at Wave 2.

RESULTS

Our use of LCA confirmed the existence of four distinct patterns of productive activity engagement among the study sample: Informal Helper/Carer, Working-Caring Engager, Civic Contributor, and Low/Spousal Carer. All of these three patterns exhibited significantly lower levels of depressive symptoms than that of Low/Spousal Carer two years later.

CONCLUSIONS

Our use of individual-based categorization of productive engagement better captured the reality of older adults performing various productive activities than summative scales of productive activities did and, therefore, provided a more valid clarification of differential well-being outcomes among older adults.

An alternative discourse of productive aging: A self-restrained approach in older Chinese people in Hong Kong

While Western discourses regarding productive aging emphasize individuals' contributions to economic productivity, the Confucian cultural heritage of the Chinese community may provide an alternative perspective. This qualitative study explores interpretations of what constitutes productive aging, based on a series of in-depth interviews with older Chinese people in Hong Kong. It shows that some of these individuals adopted a passive and indirect interpretation of productive aging, distinct from that found in Western countries. The Confucianism-based, collectivist, normative order underpinning Hong Kong society disposed these older people to adopting a self-restrained attitude with the aim of avoiding becoming a burden to others, especially family members. Such a tendency toward self-restraint or avoidance also encompassed a compromise between ideals and reality, with the older people opting to compromise their expectations of the younger generation as a whole, their adult children in particular, in terms of respect and reciprocity.